I recall going on a Merrymaker trip by train from Northampton that included a coach to Stoke Bruerne, and one to Oban that included a cruise on the King George V to Staffa and Iona. And I note various offerings on (or off the end of) present day train excursions, though the cost of such excursions has moved them up from the bargain basement to luxury trips.
So here we are on the "Aurora" - not a train but a boat, out on not a day trip but a month's cruise from not Northampton but Southampton (sidebar – I first met my wife in an industrial estate in Northampton), but with a similarity of excursions in ports of call. For about 10 ports, we have books 2 through the cruise line, one independently, and we're meeting US family on one stop and old school friends on another.
A shore excursion"Rum, Beer and the Screech Inn". Otherwise known as tourist hotspots and happy hours in Newfoundland.
Coaches at 13:00 from the street just off the ship. With passports checked at Southampton and a Canadian customs / immigration card filled in on board, our ship account card becomes our key to access from the ship to Canada, and a simple scan and we're off down the gangway - out of the dockyard gate a few yards away, and we're directed to the front of three coaches each of which is (in St John's) doing a different trip. 48 regular passengers, a guide, a driver, and the lady who teaches watercolours on the boat on sea days acting as sheepdog to round up the group's stragglers when necessary, and to count us.
And off we set. "Couldn't let you come to St Johns without seeing Signal Hill" says our guide, and the coach climbs out of the town to the hill high above, featuring beautiful scenery, and Cabot's tower; it was from here that the first wireless transatlantic telegraph messages were sent by Marconi. 20 minutes allowed at the stop; a choice between walking round / taking pictures or briefly visiting into the tower. And of course an opportunity to meet and impersonate a Newfoundland dog.
And so halfway down the hill to our first rum stop.
The story / history of pirates in these parts, of gibbets and chains, and of the use of alcohol in drinks to preserve water for drinking on long sea voyages. Of the addition of lime later to counteract scurvy, and of why the pirates chose Newfoundland waters of all the various places in the world they could go.
Two or three people on our coach were less mobile than most of us, and how noticeable it was at each stop that those people were helped off the bus ahead of the rest of us more mobile folks. On one hand it helped to maximise the time they had to look around, but on the other hand it held back the majority for a significant chunk of the stop. I have no easy answer – for where equality ends and where inequality in the direction allowed by the (
UK▸ ) law begins. Me thinks letting the slower people off first where we were going to an event (such as drinking) close by the bus, and letting those who could unload quickly where there was a free flow look around at various elements would be an equitable balance.
And so (hic) back onto the bus (hic) for our next (hic) section. A further drive around, and an opportunity to see a little of the town - round Qudi Viddi passing the harbour "that you might get a glance of between the houses" and around the lake, where we learned about the coming of thousands of people every year to the racing on the lake competition, and why it was always held on a Wednesday. Everything has a purpose; scratching my head, I think the purpose of this was to give our guide a wedge of time to actually do some guiding; he was talking for the - what - 15 or 20 minute cycle before we came back into St Johns itself and went into the YellowBelly Inn.
If the stop near the interpretation centre had been for Rum, this stop was for their home brewed beer.
We learned too (or as much as was practical between beers) of the history of St Johns, of fires that had burned it down, and how the new higher level Water Street had been built up basically on the rubble. We went in smaller groups into the brewing room itself, then in true pub crawl fashion left that pub and carried on up the hill to the Screech Inn ... where we learned what it took to be a Newfoundlander (basically come from somewhere in Britain and like "Newfoundland Steak" - a.k.a. Spam (or was it Bolony) and Rum ("Newfoundland Rum" is of course brewed in Jamaica and then sent it kegs to St Johns for bottling.
Lisa and I are both qualified talkers. Many years ago, at a castle in Ireland we kissed the Blarney Stone and now have the gift of the gab. And at the Screech Inn we kissed the Cod and we are now both honorary Newfoundlanders. We have certificates to prove it. On - and (hic) we (hic) sampled (hic) present day (hic) Newfoundland Rum.
The return to the boat is a bit of a blur - though we must have made it back here somehow, as I'm writing this on board the Aurora. I do recall the tour guide talking of tipping traditions, and how they're seen as something of an insult in certain cultures. He then went on to confirm that is definitely NOT the case in the Canadian culture. I seem to recall him shaking everyone's hand and wishing us a fine onward voyage too.
I am too much of an analyst / cynic. The trip around
was worthwhile; probably easier for us to do that and go along with it – had we 'gone solo' we would not have seen as much, or spent so long planning it would not have been worthwhile. But we probably paid a lot for what we got, and we had no opportunity along the way to say "let's change plans". Where I was slightly surprised was that no opportunity was offered once we were soused to buy souvenirs of St Johns - for which relief much thanks.
And so we have sailed back out into the Atlantic. Our next scheduled call - Corner Brook - on the other side of Newfoundland, where the last remaining
steam locomotive on the island lays dead on a stub of track. But, sad to relate, things can go wrong with transport schedules. I understand we have sufficient crew, and that the boat is in good mechanical shape. However, Hurricane Dorian that wreaked so much havoc in the Bahamas is headed up the coast and there is some doubt that it would be safe of comfortable for us to go into the Gulf of Quebec in the eye of the storm, so that stop has been removed from our schedule and we're headed back out hundreds of miles into the Atlantic to let it pass inwards of us. Once it's passed, we should be able to head back in to see the house where Anne of Green Navels is set. Fortunately, I don't think we were carrying intermediate passengers for Corner Brook, and everyone on board seems fairly stoic about it. For Lisa and me, the stop has been replaced by an extra bridge lesson.
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